Post-Gazette Editorial – 8/21/06

This page was last updated on August 21, 2006.

The un-diplomat / Andrew Young does Wal-Mart no favors; Editorial; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; August 21, 2006.

If you read the PG editorial page on August 18^th, you’re in for a hoot. In one of those editorials, the PG invented a racial slur by a Republican and then concluded the candidate “is definitely not presidential or vice-presidential material” solely on the PG’s fabrication. Remember that as you read this editorial.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“When Wal-Mart hired former civil rights leader and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young as an image-builder and spokesman, it believed it had on its payroll a goodwill ambassador skilled at smoothing relations with suspicious communities.

“Instead, what America’s former ambassador to the United Nations brought to the table with one intemperate newspaper interview was rancor capable of uniting Jews, Arabs and Asian-Americans against Wal-Mart.

“Mr. Young, 74, has been criss-crossing the country for half a year arguing the merits of having the world’s biggest retailer as a neighbor.”

[RWC] It’s no accident the editorial mentioned Mr. Young’s age when the editorial bashing Sen. Allen didn’t do the same. The idea is to get us to give Mr. Young some slack because of his age.

“Meanwhile, fellow Democrats with national political aspirations have begun campaigning against Wal-Mart by making it the symbol of the corporate exploitation of low-paid workers.”

[RWC] Note it’s not alleged “corporate exploitation of low-paid workers.” The PG has determined “corporate exploitation of low-paid workers” is a given.

“One of the many arguments marshalled by activists fighting Wal-Mart’s incursion into their communities is the negative impact it has on local retailers. The argument has carried the day in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.”

[RWC] Apparently “alleged” is not in the PG dictionary when it comes to making accusations regarding businesses.

When the editorial said the “argument has carried the day in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York,” the author failed to note the result. For example, in Chicago, Wal-Mart changed its plans for a new store and moved the location to just outside the city border in a suburb. Target, also caught up in the war against “big box” retailers, announced it was pulling out of two Chicago developments. I suspect Target will do the same as Wal-Mart and build their new stores outside the Chicago border.

“Mr. Young told the Los Angeles Sentinel just how unsympathetic he was to this argument. Referring to small store owners, Mr. Young blamed non-black merchants for ‘overcharging’ black communities in general:

“‘I think they’ve ripped off our communities enough,’ Mr. Young said. ‘First it was the Jews, then it was Koreans and now it’s Arabs.’”

[RWC] The PG gave us a relatively tame excerpt. The full quote is :

“Well, I think they [Wal-Mart] should; they ran the ‘mom and pop’ stores out of my neighborhood. But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they’ve ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it’s Arabs; very few black people own these stores.”

“The Muslim American Society, the Anti-Defamation League and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund expressed outrage over Mr. Young’s characterization.

“Wal-Mart repudiated Mr. Young’s statement and insisted he apologize. Mr. Young did so before resigning from the company. In his resignation speech, Mr. Young asked that he be judged on the totality of his work for equal rights for all and not solely on the controversy that ended his career with Wal-Mart.

“As Martin Luther King Jr.’s right-hand man and as someone who worked the front-lines of the civil rights movement when it wasn’t a safe thing to do, Mr. Young has certainly earned our eternal respect and our gratitude.”

[RWC] In plain English, a Democrat leader openly disparages Jews, Koreans, and Arabs, yet Mr. Young “has certainly earned [the PG’s] eternal respect and [the PG’s] gratitude.” It really is different when you’re a Democrat/liberal. Actually, I was surprised the PG didn’t try to claim Mr. Young was a closet Republican and this outburst was proof. <g>

I only wish Mr. Young had been running for office. It would have been fun to see how the PG tried to bail him out.

“Still, even a former ambassador can’t expect diplomatic immunity for bigoted statements.”

[RWC] Did you notice the portion of Mr. Young’s comments the PG didn’t touch? It was the part about local retailers “who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables.” Does anyone care to guess why the PG avoided this portion of Mr. Young’s comments? These folks – local retailers and “mom and pop” stores – also usually pay only minimum wage and provide no benefits.